Co-written in 1980 with RTD. First performed for the New Mexico Mountain Club as a trip report. Music adapted from mixed sources. El ladron means “the thief” in Spanish. El Ladrón (also called Ladrón Peak) is over 9000’ feet high and is in New Mexico’s Rio Grande Valley.
I am the mountain they call El Ladrón
New Mexico Mountain Club please hear my song;
You drink your cerveza, you sing all your songs,
You boast you can climb me, but, oh, you are wrong;
My rivers are dry, bring your water from home,
The agave and cactus are the swords of Ladrón,
So beware, those who climb El Ladrón.
The thieves who once hid here grew thirsty and died,
And at night you can hear all their pitiful cries;
For they took the king’s gold and killed all his men,
Then ran for my hills, never heard from again;
The banditos they died and left hidden gold,
Now nobody knows just what treasures I hold,
So beware, those who climb El Ladrón!
Not since those days have I seen many men,
My only friends are the moon and the wind;
But what’s this I see? Nine figures below,
Seven hikers, two dogs, and they’re ready to go,
With packs on their backs, they’re showing no fear,
Of the cougars and rattlesnakes still living here,
So beware, you who climb El Ladrón!
A coat of scrub oak and cactus I wear,
No trails do I have that go anywhere;
They drink their cerveza, they sing all their songs,
They boast they can climb me, but, oh, they are wrong!
My rivers are dry, bring your water from home,
The agave and cactus are swords of Ladrón,
So beware, those you climb El Ladron!
They’ll never know of the hazards I hold,
They walked with my ghosts who are centuries old;
They drank their cerveza, they sang all their songs,
They climbed to my summit, and now they are gone!
My rivers are dry, bring your water from home,
The agave and cactus are swords of Ladrón,
Beware, those who climb El Ladrón!
Beware, those who climb El Ladrón!
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